When designing your site you may want to decide what font you are going to use before you start writing your content. Each different style of font will render differently depending on your operating system and your web browser. You web typography will also have a different effect on each area of your site. There are a few things to watch for when deciding which font to use. There are several different fonts are the safe typography for web development.

Sans-Serif Font and Serif Fonts

To start things off there are two general categories of fonts. There are sans-serif and serif fonts. A sans-serif is most common with Arial and Verdana on a Windows operating System and Helvetica for a Mac operating system. Sans-serif fonts have no flat spots on the text. These small flat spots have a nick name of feet. A serif font is Times New Roman and is the most popular serif font that developers use. The best way to determine if your font is serif font or a sans-serif font is to look at the bottom of the text. Serif fonts have small feet at the bottom of their text and sans-serif fonts have clean cut offs at the bottom.

Windows Fonts Linux Fonts and Mac Fonts

Each operating system has different style of fonts. Of all the popular operating systems, most of them have the same fonts. There are a lot of windows fonts that are not supported by the other operating systems. Windows Vista has added a lot of different fonts to its operating system. If you choose a font that isn’t support by the operating system, this will force the operating system to choose one. The result can crash your web design. But choosing a font that is supported by all operating systems will keep you design safe from rendering incorrectly.

Web Safe Fonts
These typography fonts have been common to all versions of Windows, Linux and Macs:

Andale Mono

Arial

Arial Black

Century Gothic

Comic Sans MS

Courier New

Helvetica

Georgia

Impact

Times New Roman

Trebuchet MS

Verdana

Finding your Web Typography

When finding your font-family you need to find a good size and weight. Font size can be very important. Make sure that you font size is readable on all operating systems and browser. Font sizes verify between operating systems. A font size of 12pt on a Windows operating system is smaller than a font size of 12pt on a Mac operating system.

Font weight is also by the font size. When choosing a bold font weight, size can change how much bold effects your font. A small font size will take a small amount of bold, where a bigger font size will give it a stronger bold. Bold is really use for focus points and important items.

Typography can be Fun!

There might be fonts on your developing computer that you might love. But it might not be the best choice to use for your site. Play around and be creative with your web typography. Just keep in mind what your users will be using different internet browsers and operating systems. If their computer can’t find your font, it will be the computer’s choice by default. This could change the whole outlook of your page. Always check your pages in different browser and operating systems. An easy way to do this is to use a website called BrowserShots. (www.browsershots.org) It will run your website throw different scenarios of internet browsers and operating system and output the results in thumbnails.

You have pondered all the web development books, gone through tons of online tutorials and finally managed to create your own state of the art website. But then again you are not done yet as your website cannot be accessed over the Internet by your targeted audience. The final missing step you have to do is Web Hosting.

Web hosting refers to the process where you acquire a web space to publish your website so that it can be accessed from anywhere over the Internet. There are many web host companies out there that can host your website. Some for free and others for a small fee depending on the size of your website and as well as additional features you want to add on to your account.

Now that you know what web hosting is you might be wondering how to find a web host company. Worry not, as this is very easy. All you have to do is search “Web Hosting” on your web browser. Scan through the numerous web host companies listed and find one that best suits your need, choose a plan and pay. For more accurate and reliable advice on the web host company it is advisable to go through some review sites that reviews various web hosting companies and their services.

Always look for a reliable web host companies that offer good customer service, less downtime, with state of the art infrastructure because no one wants to have a website that is frequently down due to poor service by the web hosting company. This is because a significant downtime may cause loss of business, income or credibility from your website visitors.

When you are done creating an account with your chosen host, it is time to publish your website that you worked hard on. Make sure to update regularly, do routine maintenance and advertise or market your website in order to keep it fresh and increase website traffic. You can incorporate money making programs into your website. Some web host packages includes tools to create galleries, blogs, e-shops and other features that you can use to enhance the functionality and appearance of your website.

Many people want to have a website. They do not have the technical expertise to put it together themselves. There is no need to panic. In a capitalistic economy where there is a need there is always someone to fill it. Web development is no different. You can hire these resources to be done or find resources to teach you how to do it yourself.

A search on the internet will find you resources. You can go more independent and hire someone to do a custom web design. They will help with the set up look and graphics on your site. They can even make some suggestions as to content. These services will cost you but may be a very good investment. If you want the best chance at making your site stand out and do what you want it to then hiring a web designer might just be the way to go. You will want to compare prices on what services they have to offer.

You can also choose to download software to use on a web hosting site and make your own design. This may not be as original but will cost less than hiring someone exclusively for your site and web development. The software that is offered is made for the non expert to use. You can even find resources to help you make a shopping cart if you want to set up a store. You can also set up blogs and forums. As noted earlier, if there is a desire for a resource then there is someone to fill that need. A lot of this software is free to download. You will want to compare prices of the hosting sites as well. They are usually relatively inexpensive.

If you want people to see your site you will need to think about website promotion. Web promotion is what gets people to your site. Using an SEO service may help you in this area. Search engines are what people use to find sites and you want to make sure your site comes up as one of the first on its list. You may pay for services to have your site listed. You can also use methods such as using keywords to get your website to be on a list from a search engine. Some hosting sites will also offer web promoting services.

When you develop your site you must be clear in your goals. Decide if you want it to be for personal satisfaction. You might just be sharing a blog about your life with your friends and family. On the other hand, you might have a goal of making money. Those are two distinct goals and you will have to decide which your focus is.